Pulsed transient tissue conductivity measurement

We present an alternative technique for obtaining tissue conductivity as a function of frequency. Pulsed transient tissue impedance measurement differs significantly from other commonly used swept frequency techniques in that the conductivity of a tissue sample can be obtained from a voltage transient response to a current pulse. By obtaining the conductivity across a band of frequencies from a transient measurement, the necessity for direct conductivity measurements at each frequency point is eliminated. Calibration and verification of the technique was carried out by measuring the impedance magnitude and phase of simple RC circuit combinations. We present conductivity measurements taken from in vitro poultry skeletal muscle tissue specimens. Measurements from fresh animal tissues are currently being obtained.